Plaiting-machine.



' R. G. CLARK.

PLAITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYZG. um.

Patented May 7,1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1 R. G. CLARK.

PLAITING MACHINE.

APPUCATION. FILED MAY 26. 1917.

Patented May 7,1918.

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R. G. CLARK.

PLAITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26. 19:7.

Patented May 7,1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- CLARK.

PL MACHINE.

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APPLIC [9|]- 1,265,708. Patented May 7,1918

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i I" i ROBERT G. CLARK, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

PLAITING-IVIACHIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May '7, 1918.

Application filed May 26, 1917. Serial No. 171,089.

To all whom, it may concern: I

Be it known that I, Ronnn'r G. CLARK a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Iniproven'ientin Plaiting-Machines, of which the following is a description.

This invention relates to plaiting machines and has particular reference to machines for plaiting long lengths of wide, stiff materials such as curtain or screen fabrics and materials.

Among the objects of my invention may be noted the following: to provide an apparatus bymeans of which wide, stifl' Inatcrials adapted for curtains, shades, screens and similar uses may be uniformly plaited continuously from long lengths, rolls or bolts of material; to provide a mechanism such as noted in the foregoing, which will simultaneously plait and feed the material through the machine continuously and uniformly; to provide a power-driven apparatus with plaiting blades so mounted as to have movement relatively to, and independently of, the carriers for the blades during the process of plaiting the material; to provide an apparatus consisting of a plurality of rotary carriers each supporting oscillatory plaiting blades adapted to interact to produce, during a continuous feed of the material, uniform, parallel plaits; to provide a plaiting apparatus with a pair of rotary carriers each having independently movable, oscillatory plaiting blades capable of interacting so as to uniformly plait the material, and feed it to and from the plaiting position. without objectionable stress or strain thereon; to provide a plalting apparatus with a plurality of interacting plaiting blades having revolving motion as a unit and independent oscillatory motion for feeding-in and plaiting purposes; to provide a plaiting apparatuswith interacting plaiting plades adapted to crease the ma- 'terial' at the fold lines and impose httle or no pressure upon the material between such lines; to provide a plaiting machine em bodying a pair of plaiting' rollers with means whereby sharp foldsmay be made in the material without crushing, breaking, or injuriously straining the material, regardless of the character of the latter; and to provide details of construction, in a matails, and the view being broken transversely in order to admit the same within the bounds of the sheet;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the drive side of the machine, parts being broken away to show details;

Fig. 3 is a section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. l is an enlarged sectional view of a detail substantially on the line 4r4c, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of th arrows.

lVhile I have shown my invention embodied in a machine adapted particularly for plaiting curtain and screen materials, I desire it understood that the idea of means is not limited to such uses; but, may be embodied in a much smaller machine adapted to make much smaller plaits for various commercial purposes. In fact, the invention herein disclosed may be embodied in a machine of any predetermined size, according to the purpose or ultimate use of the plaited' material.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the bed of the machine which may be set upon legs or supports 2, and which has erected thereon uprights 3, bolted or otherwise suitably secured at their base 4 to the bed, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The uprights 3 form the fixtures of journal bearings, the detachable members'of' which are indicated at 5 bolted. or otherwise suit ably secured to the uprights 3, as shown in Figs. 1 and. 2. The upper pair of bearings 5 are adjustable for the purpose and by means presently described. Tie or brace-,

uprights 3 and may bars 6 connect the two in any manner found be secured thereto A suitable or convenient. Gu rd-plates Y and S, at back and front, respectively, of the machine, are suitably connected to the tiebars 6, which latter is supported by the cross bars '6, and dej end so as to shield the operator from the upper plaiting member or set, to prevent accident and also to brevent implements from being accidentally engaged with the plaiting blades.

The bed oi the machine is also provided at the drive end thereof with a pair of bearings 9 in which the driving-shaft 10 is journaled, which shatt't has, at one'end, the band or powenwh'eel ll, which may be referred to as the source oi power, ind at its other end a worm l2 meshing with the worinwheel 13 fixed upon one end of the lower shaft journaled in the lower air of bearings a and ha ing at its other end the gear-wheel l5, meshing with the gear-wheel 16, carried by c .e end of the upper shaft 1?. ournalcd in the r of adjustable beariiigs, said s Its l.-'.land 1''? being the media for supper ng and revolving the two sets of plaitirc blades, The cooperating and interacting oi plaiting blades, mounted upon the shafts it and 1?, are identical and have dentical movements and operated by identical mechanisms. Consequently, a description or one set will sutlice for the other, and like parts of the same will be indicated by similar reference characters.

Referring now to g it will be seen that the lower shaft Ll is journaled, at its opposite ends, in bushings 18, set with in the opposite bearings 5 5, and that each bushing, adjacent the inner side of its hearing, has fixed thereon a earn 1:) b means or a spotscrew 20, said stationary cam being, throughout the ma} or portion of its circun1- ference, concentric with the shaft ll, and. a predeterinined point, being provided with the shouldered, c; iii-projection 21. The staionary earns 19 are uponthe respective bushings 18, so as to place the projections A. considerably to one side of a vertical plane cutting the a); s ol the two sh; V

l- Site s El and 17,

' and so as to ac directly opposite each other in a plane parallel with the said plane cutting the axes ct sa shafts. These rain projections succcs rely operate upon the plaiting blades of the respective to cause alternative action thereof, as will be presently described.

Adjacent'the cam 19, a collar is spl i or keyed, as at upon the shaft 1e, said collar being provided with a plurality of circumferentially arrange-d bearings for the journals of the plaiting blades The journals 25 are each xtended beyond the collar 22 and reduced, as at 2?, and each journal has-fined thereon a tappet 28 for ear gagement with the stationary cam 19, Each of said tappcts is formed with a flat portion 2% adapted to bear upon the concentric circumference of the cam 19, and with an angular face-portion 30 adapted to engage the projection 21 of said cam. Owing to the compact arrangement and the great number of pl-siting blades, each set has the tappcts 28 arranged alternately at opposite ends, tons producing the construction clearly shown in Fig. wherein the journal 25 of one plaiting blade is devoid of a tappet at the end viewed, while two adjacent bladejournals are provided with such tappets. lhie alternate arrangement produces great coinoactness and admits of a maximum nuu1- her of blades being journaled inthe collars The tappets are keyed to the journals 3?, so as to be readily removable and prevented from having rotary movement on the journals, this also providing a strong construction for imparting positive movement to the plaiting blades The cooperative engagement of the concentric circumference oi the earns 19 and fiat portions 29 of the tappcts is such as to hold the tappets, and, conserniently, the plaiting blades, in fixed :osition after passing the cam-projection 21. This will be readily understood upon viewing 3. It will now be seen that the shafts 1% and 17, respectively, carry collars at their opposite ends, and that each of the said collars has journaled therein a plurality of oscillating or independently movable plaiting blades 26. The shaft 14C and the two collars 22 thereon, and the cornnleniental shaft 17 carrying the two collars constitute blade-carriers, which rotate and, consequently, cause the plaiting blades to revolve around an axis, the blades at the same time having independent oscillatory rnotion relatively to each other and to the carriers.

jhe form of the olaiting blades, as shown in the drawings, is important for two rea sons: (1 to provide ameans by which, during tire formation of a crease, the latter may be made. sharp without cracking or injuring the fiber of the material at the fold, and to provide against crushing the fiber of the material between the blades intermediate the iolds t will be seen Fl 4t that the foldr e 1 a q mg m o or one blade will enter the angle between the concentric portions or' two admay be found to accomplish the same re sults. The importance of this particular form of blade, however, is added to in view of the fact that the material is neither crushed, distorted, dragged, scraped 1101" otherwise injured in forming the plaits, regardless of the texture of the material.

Moreover, the cam actuating mechanism descraping, or undue stress upon the surface thereof, and the pla-its are made uniformly and evenly and without even fractional variation.

Viewing Figs. 1 and 3, it will be seen that the bushings 18, to which the earns 19 are lined, are held in their bearings, from both longitudinal and rotary movement, by means of screws 33 threaded into the bearing members 5 and having a reduced, smooth end 34, which enters an aperture 35 in the bushing. This provides a convenient and effective means for locating the bushings in the bearings and holding the Same, and the cams carried thereby, from movement. Moreover, it provides for the proper rela tive disposition of the other cams for cooperative action upon the tappets 28 of the plaiting blades.

When it'is desired to plait material of considerable width, it is necessary to provide a machine of considerable length having very long plaiting blades, and, in order to support the said plaiting blades intermediate their journals 25, I have provided, see Figs. 1 and 4, a plurality of bearing members 36 in the form of grooved or corrugated collars splined upon the respective shafts 14 and 17, as at 37 said members 36 being provided peripherally with the semicircular grooves 38, in which the concentric portions 31 of the plaiting blades rest and oscillate. Any number of these bearing members may be secured to the shafts 14 and 17 between their ends, according to requirements or necessities of the machine. By this means the blades are thoroughly braced between their ends, strain is removed from their journals, and quietude in action is provided.

In order to support the material to be plaited conveniently to be entered between the plaiting blades. and to guide material of varying widths, uprights 39 are erected upon the bed 1 in any suitable position, at the rear of the plaiting blades, in the upper ends of which is journaled the shaft 40 of the spool, carrying the bolt of material '41; and, to guide the support and guide the material between the spool and plaiting mechanism, any suitable guiding means is employed, the same being shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as consisting of uprights 42,.provided at their upper ends with guiding flanges 43 and at their lower ends being each provided with a foot 44, having on its bottom a rib 45 adapted to slide in a correspondingly 75 formed groove 46 in the surface 'of the bed 1, said groove being centrally slotted, as at 47 through the bed to receive a screwthreaded bolt 48, the upper end of which is threaded into the foot 44, and the head end of which engages a washer 49 to clamp the same against the base and thus hold the upright 42 in adjusted position. These guiding devices may be adjusted transversely of'the bed relatively to each other, so as to accommodate varying widths of materials which it may be desired to crimp. To support the plaited material at the front of the machine as it. leaves the plaitingblades, a tray or table 50 is provided which may be supported in any suitable manner upon the bed 1, the same being shown, in

Figs. 1 and 221s supported by uprights 51 bolted to the bed. 'This table maybe of any suitable form, being shown as curved for the purpose of causing the plaited end 52 of the material to readily descend and pass away from the plaiting blades,under the feeding action of the latter, into any suitable receiver which may be provided for the purpose. A

In order to provide means by which the plaiting blades can operate upon varying thicknesses of material passed between them, without injuring the same when set for a given thickness of material, I have provided the upper bearings for the shaft 17 with means for adjusting the same vertically upon the fixture 3. The means are shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and therein it will be seen that said upper bearings are made in two parts 5 and 5% each provided on opposite sides of the bearing for the shaft 17 with slots 53, through which pass the bolts 54 threaded into the fixture 3. By this means the bearing members 5 and 5 can be shifted vertically; and, to hold the position of ad ustment, I have provided a screw-threaded sleeve 55 threaded into an extension 56 at the upper end of the fixture 3, which may be set to engage the top of the bear ng member 5 to regulate its position. Passing through the sleeve 55 is a smooth bodied bolt 57, the lower end of which is threaded into the upper end of the bearing member 5, a check-nut 58 being set, if desired, upon the upper end of the sleeve 55. By this means the bearings 5 and 5 can be ad usted and firmly held in position, so as to regulate the interaction of the upper andlower set of-lBO parts of my invention,

plaiting blades, thus providing means by which the fold or crease'in the material may be made more or less sharp, and also providing means whereby the blades can properly told, plait or crimp the material, regardless of its thickness.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that l have provided a high speed plaiting apparatus of rotary form capable of plaiting any kind of flexible material and simultaneously feeding the same through the machine; and that, in performing the functions noted, the material is not marred or injured in any Way and .no objectionable strain is placed thereon. Consequently, the

most delicate material, as Well as strong and tenacious materials, can be operated upon and properly plaited. lnloreover, l have pro vided a mechanism which is capable or being extensively varied in size so as to adapt it to perform its functions upon materials of varying vvidths. On the other hand, it will be understood that material of a pre determined maximum width can be mani ulated, as Well as any narrower Width to a predetermined minimum; l doreover, it will be understood that the operation of the plaiting blades, under control of the cams, can be made to perform their functions in predetermined manner, according to the "form of the cams and their setting er location in the machine. These and other fea- .tures' which have been more or less stressed in the detail description are theimportant as hereinafter claimed.

Having thus I claim and Ea'tent is: n

1. rr plaiting machine having a plurality of bodily rotatingand relatively oscillating plaiting blades.

A plaiting machine having a plurality of sets oi interacting plaiting blades, and means for bodily rotating the, said sets relatively, and means for relatively oscillating said blades during their rotary movements.

3; A plaiting machine having, in combination, a carrier, means for rotating the same, a plurality or plaiting blades journaled in the carrier, and means for oscillating the same.

at. A plaitingmachine having, in coinbination, a carrier, a plaiting blade journaled in said carrier, means for rotating the carrier, and means for giving to the blade movements independently of the carrier.

5 A plaiting machine having, in combination a carrier, a plaiti'ng blade journaled therein, means for rotating the carrier, and a cammechanism for oscillating the plaiting blade.

6. A; plaiting machine having, in combi' nation, a carrier, means for rota"'ng the same, 9: e jcurnalefl described my invention, What desire to secure by Letters incen e rier, and means for oscillating the plaiting blade comprising a lined cam and a tappet cooperating therewith and With the blade.

'7. A plaiting machine having, in combination, a plurality of plaiting blade carriers, a plurality of plaiting blades journaled for independent movement in the carriers, means for rotating the carriers, means for oscillating the blades, the latter means including a fixed cam common to the blades of each carrier, and tappets carried by the blades 0r each carrier for coiiperation with said common cam.

8. A plaiting blade for plaiting machines substantially -shapel in cross-section at its executive side and having its angularly arranged sides conc red from vertex to base of the blade; 7

9. A plaiting blade for plaiting machines having its base in cross-section substantially concentric with its longitudinal axis, and its executive side formed in cross-section as an acute-angle, the sides of which angle are tangential to the arc of the base.

10. A carrier for plaiting blades consisting of a driving-shaft, a pair of collars carried thereby, said collars having journal bearings therein, and plaiting blades journaled in said bearings.

ll. 4-; carrier for plaiting blades comprising a rotary shalt, a plurality of collars carried adjacent opposite ends of said shaft, said collars being provided With a plurality of circumi erentially arranged bearings, and a plurality of plaiting blades journaled in said bearings.

12. A carrier for plaiting blades comprising a driving-shaft, apair of collars fixed thereto having a plurality of bearings, a plurality of plaiting blades journaled in said bearings, and means intermediate the bearlined to the shaft for sustaining the plaiting blades.

13. A plaiting machine having,in combination, a plurality of sets of interacting plaiting and feeding blades, means for rotating the sets of blades relatively, means for giving to the plaiting blades successively, during each rotation, independent movements to feed in and press the material, the blades of each set performing this function successively and alternately.

1%. El; plaiting machine having, in combination, a plaiting blade carrier, a shaftfor said carrier,journal bearings for said shaft, a plurality or" plaiting blades journaled in said carrier, and supports intermediate the shaft bearings for sustaining the plaiting blades.

15. A plaiting machine comprising a bed, bearings erected thereon, shafts journaled in the bearings, other bearings erected on the bed, a driving-shaft journaled therein carrying a Worm, a norm-Wheelcarriedby I one otthe first named shafts meshing with the Worm, and gearing between the said first named shafts for driving the latter, and plaiting mechanism carried by the latter shafts, substantially as described.

16. A plaiting machine comprising a plurality of interacting blades, means for supporting the blades, means for actuating the blades, and stationary guard-plates arranged in front of, and behind, certain of the blades 10 to prevent interference therewith.

17. A plaiting machine comprising a bed,

driving means mounted thereon, plaiting means, connections between the plaiting means, and driving means for actuating the plaiting means, a support for the material in rear of the plaiting means, a support for the plaited material in front of the plaiting means, and adjustable guiding means for the material between the material-support and the plaiting means.

ROBERT G. CLARK.

Eunice of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. U. 

